Two Parts of a Soul
by Cecelia Everhart
Summary: They said that the fate necklaces were simple. They said that the fate necklaces would show you your true love. But nothing had prepared Hermione for this.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Fated Necklaces

Hermione (September 17, 5:05 p.m.)

Hermione Granger sighed as she opened the large dusty book that lay on the library table in front of her. For once, she did not want to read a book or complete her homework. It wasn't that she didn't like reading or homework anymore, not at all. It was just that the assignment was on fate necklaces, a touchy subject for Hermione. With another huge sigh, she opened the book and flipped to the right page.

_Fate necklaces have been a mystery to the wizarding world for centuries. No one knows quite where these necklaces came from, although there has been much speculation on the topic._

_Sometime during your early life, you receive a fate necklace. Only the most experienced wizards have the ability to create one of these legendary necklaces, and so these wizards are highly respected and revered. The charm to create a fate necklace has never been released to the public. The only exception to this was the fatal mishap in 1602 in which the charm was accidentally revealed to the public. Many people tried to create new necklaces for themselves in an attempt to change their destiny. This resulted in over 200,000 deaths, owing to the fact that removing your necklace will slowly kill you. Thus, the charm was secured by the ministry. _

_Each of these fate necklaces are a half of a whole picture. The person in the possession of the other half of the necklace is your soul mate. Most people keep their necklaces hidden until they are certain they have found their partner. If you reveal your necklace to the wrong person, you will find it extremely painful to later on bond with your true mate. The pain is so excruciating, that some wizards and witches don't ever bond. However, if you find the person who has the other half to your necklace, you simply combine them into one and then you are bonded for life. Many people refuse to accept their true soulmates, marrying others instead and soon finding that they are unhappy. Some people, usually witches and wizards with exceptional magical skills, form extremely strong bonds, which-_

At this point, Hermione slammed the book shut and stood up quickly, earning her a sharp glance from Madam Pince. With great reluctance, Hermione picked up the book and walked out of the quiet sanctuary, planning to finish her assignment in the Head's common room. However, Ron quickly apprehended her at the library's door.

"'Mione," he exclaimed, a big smile breaking out onto his face, "I've been looking all over for you."

"Hello Ronald," replied Hermione in a strained voice, "I was just about to head back to the common room. I'll talk with you later."

Hermione turned to leave, but before she could escape, Ron grabbed her arm and yanked her back around. Hermione winced at his brutality, but she stood quietly anyway and waited for Ron to speak.

"How are you doing? I know it hasn't been easy with your parents and the house and all..." Ron quietly started.

Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Hermione sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Yeah. Ok. Well..I've been thinking lately...and...maybe..I..well..if you want to," Ron painfully stumbled over his words.

"Spit it out Ron," Hermione said sharply, tears still fighting to run down her cheeks.

_What was wrong with her? _Hermione thought. _She should be nicer to him. He was her best friend after all and her anger wasn't towards him. It was the stupid fate necklaces that were creating problems. _

"I'm sorry," she said without any remorse in her voice, "What do you want?"

"Right, so Hermione, willyougoutwithme?"

_Did he just ask me to go out with him? I can't go out with him; he's like a brother to me...but I can't reject him, that will be awkward afterwards. I can't deal with this right now; I'm just too tired... Don't just stand there staring like an idiot! Say something._

"Ummmm...sure," she said, and ran.

_What did I just agree to?_

Hermione ran all the way back to the Head's dorms and murmured "Dragons' blood" to the motherly portrait that guarded the entry way. She was so lost in thought entering the room, she failed to notice Draco Malfoy lounging on the plush couch reading a book.

"Hello Mudblood," he sneered, "Been in the library all this time? Haven't you got anything better to do? Like have friends?"

Hermione ignored him and ran up the stone stairs to her room, throwing herself onto her bed after slamming the door shut. She wanted nothing more than to erase the past five minutes. Her life was spiraling downwards, and quickly. After the Death Eaters had killed her parents, she had had no one to turn to; Harry and Ron had been very nice about the whole thing, but they just didn't understand. Admittedly, Harry's parents were dead as well, but he was useless when it came to comforting crying girls. And then there had been the catastrophic incident in which her house had been burned to the ground. Dumbledore had allowed her to live at Hogwarts until she made other arrangements. Living at Hogwarts year round had been interesting, but emotionally taxing. Plus the fact that she was forced to share a dorm with her fellow Head Boy, Malfoy. And now Ron. Of course she didn't want to date him. He was Ron after all.

Hermione's thoughts whirled faster and faster and she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, hoping that the world would take the hint and just leave her alone. The world, however, was just plain oblivious to Hermione's feelings. The next two months were possibly the worst of Hermione's life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you to my wonderful beta A Muffin with a Mission. Also, I do not own any of the characters, places, etc. mentioned in this story. Those belong to the amazing Mrs. Rowling. I only own the plot. **

**Chapter Two: The Dark Lord's New Plan**

_**Draco (September 17, 9:07 p.m.)**_

Draco had never been more miserable in his entire existence. He had never wanted to live the life he had been born into. He had never wanted Lucius Malfoy to be his father. He had never wanted to be rich. He had never wanted to become a Death Eater. But unfortunately, all these things were his. He lay on his bed, staring at the wall, and allowed himself to indulge in a rare moment of weakness. Draco's mask slipped off his face and true pain showed in his eyes. A loud knock sounded on the mahogany door, reverberating through the room. An annoying, high pitched voice followed.

"Ohhh Drakie. I know you're in there," simpered Pansy Parkinson as she slammed open the door and walked over to his silken bed, with what she clearly thought was a sexy strut.

Draco quickly sat up and slid his normal facade back into place.

"Pansy," he purred, although inwardly he cringed. He hated Parkinson, but he had to obey his father or face the consequences.

She plopped herself onto his bed and with an ugly smile on her ugly face she coyly said, "Drakie, I want to see your necklace."

He started to protest. "Do you really think I would want-?"

Draco was cut off when Pansy placed a finger on his lips and leaned closer to him, close enough for him to see the boring mud brown eyes set deeply into a pug-like face. He almost snorted, but once again remembered his father's warning and kept his mouth shut. Pansy reached for his neck and Draco immediately tried to protest, against his better judgement. Pansy ignored his attempts, completely oblivious to his struggles. Keeping one finger on his lips, she slipped her hand into his shirt and, lingering there for a moment, curled her hand around his necklace. Grabbing her necklace, she opened her hands, revealing the two necklaces lying in her palm. Her face, so open and excited, became trampled by her obvious disappointment and disbelief. Her charm, half of a butterfly, did not at all fit Draco's necklace. Draco breathed a slight sigh of relief, although he had always known that Parkinson could never possibly be his soul mate.

"Drakie," Pansy desperately whined, "We could still be together. I don't care what the fates say; I love you."

_This makes my life a whole lot easier_, thought Draco.

"As much as I want to stay with you," Draco replied smirking, "We obviously can't. Have a nice life. Get out of my room."

"But, Drakie-"

"Get out Parkinson," he growled, annoyed.

Hurt fresh on her face, she clumsily climbed off of his bed and ran out of the room, almost choking Draco as she let go of his necklace.

Draco lay back down and settled himself into a comfortable position, allowing his thoughts to flow freely, filling the space around him.

_Why did I even given the stupid pig the password in the first place? Ahhh, yes to make Granger angry. _

The memory of that day played in his mind as he fiddled with the corner of his shirt.

_He had just arrived at school and learned that he must spend the school year with Granger as the Head Girl. Granger! Of all people, that know it all filthy Mudblood had attained the position of his equal. He stormed off to the Heads' common room and reached the entrance, before he realized that he had no idea what the password was. Angrily, he leaned beside the portrait of an ugly old man, and waited for Granger to come. She had walked up, mere minutes later, cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling, and for a minute Draco forgot his anger. She had looked so innocent and, Merlin help him, even... beautiful in that moment. But he quickly remembered who he was and why he was angry. He snapped at her and called her a Mudblood like always. Draco demanded the password, and strutted past her into the common room when the portrait swung open, not bothering to look at her until he heard her angry retort. _

"_You arrogant, callous Slytherin! I have endured countless insults from you, and I have had enough. Just because you're a Death Eater doesn't mean you're better than everyone else!"_

_His heart stopped. A Death Eater? How had she known? Draco turned to reply, but before he could say anything, the irritating voice of Parkinson called out to him. _

"_Oh Draco, there you are." She panted, apparently worn out. "I've- I've been looking all over for you. I haven't seen you in so long and we need to... catch up."_

_Smirking, he replied, "Pansy ahh. I've been looking for you as well."_

What a perfect opportunity to annoy Granger! Draco thought.

_He continued." I..um... I wanted to tell you... the password is 'dragon's blood'!"_

_He turned to look at Granger and the pure horror and rage on her face was comical. He knew that Granger would be furious because Pansy was a nightmare. The thought of her having the liberty to come into the Head's dorm whenever she pleased, was awful even to him. Throwing a trademark smirk at her, he turned around and strutted into the room, slamming the portrait into the hate filled face of Granger and the satisfied face of Parkinson. _

After that night, Granger had kept her distance from him, seemingly always on guard. But earlier tonight, she had burst into the common room and her face showed real pain and emotion. He had made a nasty remark, but she has simply ignored him. What was wrong with her? He pushed that thought out of his mind, and quite suddenly remembered that the Heads had patrol duty that night. He pushed himself off of his bed with a soft thud, and strolled over to Granger's room, from which she had not emerged all evening. He knocked on the door once, eliciting no response, and so he knocked again, this time getting a muffled sob.

"Can't you just leave me alone Malfoy?" her strangled voice asked.

"I would, but if I get caught patrolling without your filthy blood, it will be my fault." he replied, exhausted. His day had been anything but restful.

The door swung open with a loud bang and a frazzled Hermione Granger darted out of the room, slamming into him. Surprised, Draco grabbed onto Hermione for support and, instead of righting himself, fell over, pulling her on top of him. With a muffled gasp, she rolled off of him, furiously blushing and offered him a hand up. Draco shoved himself off the floor ignoring her hand, and walked past her out the door. She quietly followed, still sniffing occasionally. They walked down the corridor and into the night filled hallways of Hogwarts. The portraits muttered among themselves, creating a slightly spooky atmosphere. Draco and Hermione awkwardly walked together, not sure if they should walk beside each other or separate. When their patrol was over, they traced back to the common room.

"Good night," Hermione hesitantly said before turning to the stairs that lead up to their bedrooms.

"We have to share a common room, but we are not friends," Draco spat.

He pushed past her and darted up the stairs, slamming the door to his bedroom. Draco wearily collapsed onto his bed, eyes drifting shut. As the dark depths of sleep grasped at his brain, a sharp tap of his window jerked him awake. He dragged himself out of bed and opened it to let an owl swoop in. Removing the note from the owl's leg he read,

_We have a meeting tonight at midnight. Do not disappoint me. _

_-Lucius_

Midnight, that gave him exactly...2 minutes to be there. _Two minutes. Two minutes. Two- oh Merlin. _

With a start, Draco ran to the fireplace, threw in floo powder, and mumbled "Malfoy Manor." With a whoosh, he was transported to the manor. He arrived in the grand entrance hall, the paintings murmuring in displeasure at the sudden brightness of the fire. Draco sprinted down the hall, knowing the punishments of being late. He halted before the large oak doors at the end, nervous to walk in and face another meeting. Sighing, he smoothed down his hair and entered. A long table dominated the room, around which were seated many people, all with the same dead look in their eyes and tattoo on their arms. At the head of the table sat the Dark Lord, as vile as ever, and to his right was Lucius Malfoy, regal and cold. Draco bowed and walked over to sit by his father, maintaining a look of indifference.

"Now that we are all here," the Dark Lord began in a dangerously soft voice, "We can begin. That _fool, _Dumbledore, thinks he can keep Potter safe. But I have a new plan: more death eaters. Loyal death eaters...unlike so many of you. "

_New recruits? As much as Potter deserves to be brought down, no one deserves to be a death eater. _

The meeting went on and on until the sun came up. They were dismissed and Draco, even more tired than before, stumbled back to Hogwarts and his warm and comfortable bed. But when he shuffled into the common room, he was surprised to see Granger sprawled on the couch, mouth open, chest rising and falling in steady even breaths. What was she doing? Too tired, to think about her, he shrugged, walking back to his room. He never made it. His spent energy allowed him to go further. He collapsed onto the floor and let the peacefulness of sleep overtake him.

**Author's Note: There may be some confusion as to the layout of the Heads' dorm. The Head Boy (Malfoy) and the Head Girl (Hermione) share one dorm. They have one common room with one staircase. At the top of the staircase, there are two rooms: one to the left and one to the right. Hermione's is on the right and Draco's is on the left. They each have their own bathrooms. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thank you to my amazing beta AdamineTerra. Hope you enjoy the story!**

**Chapter Three: Important Announcements **

_**Hermione (September 18, 7:43 a.m.)**_

The sun filtering in through the windows woke Hermione the next morning. With a yawn, she blinked her eyes sleepily and glanced around her.

_I must have fallen asleep on the couch after waiting for Malfoy to get back. Where was he last night?_

Hermione got up to prepare for classes that day when she noticed a limp body sleeping on the red carpet. It was Malfoy she realized, after seeing the bleached blond hair. A jolt of worry went through her, but she brushed it aside and ran up the stone steps to shower. The warm water washed away all the soreness of sleeping on the couch. After getting ready and packing her bag, Hermione headed downstairs. She was about to leave for breakfast when she saw that Malfoy still had not woken up.

She walked over to him, kicked him in the face, and smiled as his sleepy and indignant cries followed her out of the room.

At breakfast, she seated herself between Ron and Harry. When they started talking about quidditch, she tuned out and started to eat her breakfast. All at once the room fell silent, and looked at the head table. Dumbledore stood and started to speak.

"Good morning students. I hope you all slept well last night. I have a very important announcement to make. The teachers would have liked me to have waited to explain everything at dinner, but I feel it would be more beneficial for you to hear it this morning. In order to-"

At that moment he was cut off by the owls swooping in to the Great Hall with the morning mail. Dumbledore folded his hands and waited patiently for the mail to be delivered and for the students to quiet themselves. Once order was restored, he continued with his speech.

"As I was saying, war is on the horizon. As a magical community, it is important that we create strong bonds between each other, so that when war does come, we are prepared. So, we will be having a small competition between four of the magical schools in Europe: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts."

Dumbledore paused again to allow the students to discuss this new information between themselves. After a moment, he proceeded once more.

"There will be four events in this competition. Each school will host one event. These events will test everything from magical ability to physical strength. A male and a female representative will be chosen to compete for each school. They, along with a friend they choose to travel with, will go to all the schools and compete in each event. At the end of the competition, all students in sixth and seventh year from all schools are invited to attend a Masquerade Ball. The prize for the winner will be an extra year of education at any school you wish to go to and 500 galleons prize money. This is also a good opportunity to find the person who has a fate necklace matching yours. I know most of the seventh years are in the middle of that unit now. You do not sign up for this competition. All sixth and seventh years are automatically entered. The two competitors will be announced tomorrow at dinner. Representatives from other schools will arrive in one week and the first competition will begin. Now, pip-pip! Classes begin in five minutes."

The entire hall erupted in excited chatter.

"Wow," Ron dreamily sighed, "I hope I get chosen. All that money..."

"Money!" Hermione exclaimed, "What about the extra year of education at ANY school?"

They left the hall arguing over the better prize and only stopped when Harry awkwardly tapped Hermione's shoulder. They had arrived at the History of Magic classroom. Ron grabbed Hermione's waist and pulled her into the class. Professor Binns drearily looked up as they entered and then started talking about fate necklaces yet again. Hermione dutifully took notes, but her insides were in knots.

_What if what everyone says is true? What if I don't have a soul mate? No one really seems to like me...Well, except for Ron, but I know he can't be my soul mate. _

Her limp hand dropped the quill she was holding and drew her out of her thoughts. Blushing, she picked up her quill and ignored the looks Ron and Harry were giving her.

When class was over, she ignored Ron and Harry's banter and went to her dormitory. Some peace and quiet would definitely make her feel better. However, when she arrived at the common room, she was dismayed to find Draco lounging on the couch.

_Does he ever leave the couch?!_

Even more surprising was his lack of insults and sneers. Instead, when she walked in, he sat straight up and looked her right in the eye.

"Granger," he said.

"Malfoy," she coolly replied.

"We need to talk."

She warily sat on the armchair across from him and watched him carefully, unsure what to do.

"Why were you sleeping on the couch last night?" he asked.

Laughing, Hermione answered, "You left last night to go somewhere. I wanted to know where and why. Did you like your wake up this morning?"

"Oh yes. I'm still laughing over the brilliance of it," he sarcastically said. "But I'm not going to tell you where I went."

"Great." Hermione stood up and walked away.

"You're giving up that easily?" Malfoy called.

"Yes. I'm rather bored with this whole conversation." She replied over her shoulder.

_Of course I'm not giving up that easily. I'm Hermione Granger after all. But, I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of berating me. Ohhh, no. I'm always happy to have an extra project, although stalking Malfoy is not exactly what I had in mind..._

Hermione was smiling all throughout dinner and even afterwards as she walked up to her room. When she walked through her door, her smile disappeared and a wave of fear swept through her. There was someone sitting on her bed, and he did not look happy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Thank you to my amazing betas AdamineTerra and A Muffin with a Mission. I would be lost without them. Also, it is finals week at my school. Yay! (Just kidding ughh). As a result, I won't be writing or posting at all this week and probably next week. So sorry. Have a lovely day and don't forget to review!**

**Chapter Four: The Champions**

_**Draco (September 18, 7:58 a.m.)**_

Draco was woken up by a foot in his face. Not the best way to start a morning. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his face and hoping to Merlin that he wouldn't bruise. He got dressed and started to head down to breakfast before he realized that he didn't have time to eat.

_I guess I'll skip breakfast...again._

Draco, face throbbing, walked into Transfiguration and plopped down into a chair, too tired to care where he sat. The room was alive with excited energy.

_Ughh. What is with these people? It's just Transfiguration. _

"Draco," a timid voice from his right blurted out his name.

He turned to find Parkinson sitting next to him. Her eyes were swollen and her face was tired. The once bold and brash girl had been reduced to an even uglier (How was that possible?) and smaller version of herself. What was wrong with her?

"Parkinson," he coldly replied. He knew what was bothering her-it was at the tip of his tongue-but his brain still wasn't awake.

McGonagall walked in and started blabbing about preparing for some competition and private training for some champion. Desperate to get answers, Draco reluctantly turned to Parkinson.

"What is she talking about?" he whispered.

Parkinson turned to him with a confused face. "What do you mean?"

"What. Competition. Is. McGonagall. Talking. About."

"Weren't you at breakfast?" Her face was lined with confusion.

"What? No."

"Oh. So basically there's a competition between four wizarding school. Two competitors are randomly selected to compete. Competition with competitors competing. So yeah."

_A competition!? When did that happen? Oh, the Dark Lord is NOT going to be happy. _

Draco spent the rest of the day, and the next one, worrying over the tournament. If he was chosen to compete, he could escape the Dark Lord. However, one misstep would mean the end of Draco. He barely ate dinner and thought he would explode with anxiety when Dumbledore stood up and began his speech.

"I trust that you have all had a good day...I will now announce the two students that will contend in the tournament. These students have been chosen based on their mental and physical strength, as well as their logical thinking and ability to do well in a crisis. Without further ado, the female representative for Hogwarts is...Hermione Granger!"

_No surprise there. She's the smartest witch of the age, or so they say. Even I can't deny that._

"And the male representative for Hogwarts is...Draco Malfoy!"

Murmurs erupted throughout the hall, but Draco couldn't make out anything. His brain was numb and his body was frozen.

_Me?...I'm going to compete in the tournament? Why? But I don't even know what it is... Me?_

"Congratulations to the winners! Now off to bed, or you will be falling asleep in class tomorrow."

Draco sat dully at the Slytherin table as all the students rose to go to bed. And then it came to him.

_I'll just ask Granger about the whole competition. She's bound to have read some book on this or something. Know-it-all._

With that thought fresh in his mind, he sprinted up to their common room. He arrived just as Granger was stepping through the portrait.

He followed after her into the room and, motioning from Granger to do the same, he settled onto the couch. Granger perched beside him.

"Listen here Granger. I-" All of the sudden, he noticed that Granger looked different. Her normally bright eyes were far-away and vacant. Bags resided underneath them, large purple bruises. She was hunched over and her hands were tightly clenched in her lap.

_Bloody girls. They are all having some sort of issue this week. Granger, Parkinson. Maybe the teachers will be in on it next. _

He snapped his fingers in front of her expressionless face until she jerked out of her daze.

"What?" she snapped.

_Merlin, this is going to be more difficult than planned. _

"I need your...your...help," he carefully said, cringing at every word, "I have no idea what this tournament is about. Since we are now...how do you say it?...partners, we should work together." His insides churned at the admission.

Granger shrugged and explained the rules of the contest. She sat vacantly on the couch after her outpour of information.

_The Dark Lord isn't going to be pleased. What if he hurts my mother? And the competition by itself is going to be hard work. _

Emotions welled up inside of Draco and he struggled to keep them in check. What was wrong with him? This was twice in three days. He jumped up and flew up the stairs. Scribbling a quick note to his father, he struggled to compose himself. Unable to keep his emotions in balance any longer, he jumped in bed and burrowed under the duvet.

A soft knock sounded on his door.

"Go away," he mumbled.

The door squeaked open, door knob protesting the motion, and Granger appeared. She awkwardly stood in the doorway, seemingly unsure of what to do. Coming to a decision, she timidly stepped into the room. Her voice was raw and harsh when she spoke.

"You were right. We should work together. But in order to do that, we need to be honest with each other." Here she hesitated, as if afraid of what would come out her mouth next.

"What's wrong? You have been missing on certain nights and have been tired all the time. You have this mask up and right now its gone. I want to know why."

_Is Granger taking pity on me? Like I am going to take that from a filthy mudblood. But she is surprisingly observant. Something is wrong with her. She would never do something like this. So maybe I should take the opportunity to tell her everything? No. That would ruin everything. I could be jeopardizing my family's safety...and the Dark Lord's plan. I just won't say anything, maybe she'll go away. _

There was a long moment of silence. Then he felt a gentle hand rest upon the covers, right where his shoulder was.

"I understand if you don't want to talk. But I'm just across the hall if you want to," her understanding voice whispered.

He heard her leave and lay under the covers, stunned.

_Granger, of all people, was being kind to him. Something was definitely amiss with her. _

He lay in his bed until the depths of sleep overwhelmed him and he relaxed into its waiting arms.

**Author's Note: I apologize for not explaining who was sitting on Hermione's bed. It will be revealed next chapter. If I am moving to fast, please tell me. I greatly appreciate all reviews, good and bad. **


End file.
